Our survey said…

This time last week we were looking ahead to the publication of the full set of results from the FSA’s retail survey on levels of campylobacter on chicken. The 12-month survey, running from February 2014 to February 2015, looked at the prevalence and levels of campylobacter contamination on fresh whole chilled chickens and their packaging. The survey tested more than 4,000 samples of whole chickens bought from UK retail outlets and smaller independent stores and butchers. The results are in, and here are the findings for the full year:

• 73 per cent of chickens tested positive for the presence of campylobacter
• 19 per cent of chickens tested positive for campylobacter within the highest band of contamination
• Seven per cent of packaging tested positive for the presence of campylobacter
• 0.1 per cent (five samples) of packaging tested positive at the highest band of contamination.

With each quarter’s results having been published along the way, the final figures were very similar to those released at the nine-month stage and so didn’t come as a shock in that regard. However, when we consider that just short of three quarters of chickens on sale in supermarkets are still infected with this lethal bug, it’s clear that there remains a lot to be done.

The FSA highlighted this even more so with the news that over the period of the survey, none of the retailers achieved the joint industry target for reducing campylobacter.

However, the FSA welcomed the publication of case studies by Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Co-op and Waitrose on the same day the full-year results were released, which show the results of the supermarkets’ recently implemented campylobacter reduction plans. The data from the tests, which were carried out on more recent samples than those taken from the FSA survey samples, show significant decreases in the incidence of campylobacter on their raw whole chickens.

Steve Wearne, FSA director of policy, says, “I am absolutely delighted to see the really encouraging results from these four supermarkets and their suppliers. I want to challenge those retailers who haven’t yet demonstrated the impact that M&S, Morrisons, the Co-op and Waitrose are having on reducing campylobacter on chickens on their shelves. We expect all retailers and processors to be achieving the reductions we have seen in these retailers’ figures – that’s the only way we will meet the target we all signed up to.”

The FSA confirmed that a new survey will start this summer, once again sampling fresh whole chickens from all types of shops.

Let’s hope we will begin to see evidence of the above retailers’ efforts to tackle campylobacter levels, as well as those yet to demonstrate their commitment to reducing levels.